The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is pleased to announce the nominees for its 20th D.I.C.E. Awards celebration, co-hosted by Greg Miller, co-founder of internet video and podcast Kinda Funny, and Jessica Chobot of Nerdist News. Academy members will begin voting for the video game industry’s premier peer-based awards show Friday, Jan. 13 at 5 PM PST.

The winners will be revealed at the Awards ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 23, at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas after the 2017 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (#DICE2017). The awards ceremony will stream live in its entirety beginning at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET via live.interactive.org. Also being honored this year is Todd Howard, legendary game director of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, who will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.

“As great as our industry is, the men and women who create the games don't get the credit they deserve,” said Miller. “I'm humbled to be part of the D.I.C.E. Awards, and I can't wait to spend the night honoring those who make so many so happy.”

“It is an honor to co-host the show with Greg and pay tribute the incredible talent that drives this industry and inspires so many,” said Jessica Chobot, Host, Nerdist News. “I thank the Academy for the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful evening.”

20th Anniversary D.I.C.E. Awards Celebration

As lead-up programming to the 20th D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy will be premiering “The Game Makers: Inside Story”- a digital series directed by award-winning filmmaker and games writer, Jennie Kong. The 10-part series is dedicated to storytelling in games, and will spotlight interviews and insights from creative luminaries behind some of the biggest narrative game franchises and indie breakouts of the last decade. Featured will be: Hideo Kojima, Kiki Wolfkill, Neil Druckmann, Mary DeMarle, Jenova Chen, Brian Hastings, Sean Vanaman, Jade Raymond, Dominic Robilliard, Will Byles, Ian Dallas, Matt Korba, Ru Weerasuriya, Amy Hennig, and David Cage. "The Game Makers: Inside Story” is produced by Wonderstruck Entertainment in conjunction with the Academy.

Throughout the rich 20-year history, the Academy has honored the best in interactive entertainment. This year’s D.I.C.E. Awards celebrate the biggest moments of the year and in an anniversary year will pay homage to the last two decades of video game achievements. The D.I.C.E. Awards is produced with the help of its many creative partners. Long-time production partners for the D.I.C.E. Awards include Hatch.im, Noodlehaus, Paragon Creative Agency and AMV.

20th D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists

Fifty-six games received a D.I.C.E. nomination, representing a range of different platforms from teams of developers both large and small. The blockbuster game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End leads the pack with ten nominations and indie darling INSIDE received 9 nominations. Several games received multiple nods, including: Battlefield 1 with eight nominations; The Last Guardian with seven nominations; Firewatch and Overwatch with six nominations; and Titanfall 2 with four nominations.

“On behalf of the Academy’s Board of Directors and its 33,000 membership, I’d like to congratulate all the nominees,” said Mike Fischer, President, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “For the past twenty years, the Academy has made the core of its mission to honor and celebrate the highest achievements in game making. We look forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary milestone, and look forward to celebrating the many more years to come!”

The D.I.C.E. Award Nominees:

The following is a partial list of nominees; the list of award categories, finalists and game maker credits is available at: http://www.interactive.org/images/awards/20th-Annual-DICE-Finalists.pdf

In addition to these finalists, the D.I.C.E. Awards will honor emerging technology with two distinct awards categories titled Immersive Reality Game of the Year and Immersive Reality Technical Achievement. Finalists for these awards will be announced shortly.

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

The single game released on an immersive reality platform that best utilizes the attributes of the platform to entertain users. Elements of design, direction and narrative are factored into the title selection. Titles of all genres are eligible if commercially available on a publicly released platform.

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement Award

This award celebrates the highest level of technical achievement within an immersive reality experience through the combined attention to gameplay engineering and visual engineering. Elements honored include but are not limited to technology features specifically associated with the immersive medium, artificial intelligence, physics, engine mechanics, and visual rendering.